Lord Coe: IAAF president steps down from Nike role following conflict of interest claims

IAAF president Lord Coe has been forced to step down from his lucrative role as an ambassador for sports giant Nike after accusations of a conflict of interest.

Earlier in November, an email emerged that showed Coe had supported the 2021 World Championship bid of Eugene, a US city in Portland with links to the sports brand. He had faced pressure from within the IAAF council over the potential conflict of interests, Reuters reported.

Eugene, which is close to Nike's Oregon headquarters, was awarded the 2021 Games over Gothenburg in Sweden. Coe has reportedly apologised to Swedish sports officials for a lack of transparency over the bid but he denies any wrongdoing.

The IAAF is currently meeting in Monaco to determine what measures will need to be enforced in Russia before the country's athletics federation can be rehabilitated. The world's governing body for athletics slapped Russia with a ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) found widespread institutional doping.